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Visual Arts

DAC showcases regional photography talent

Local exhibit ‘REPRISE’ returns with surprises

Like last summer’s inaugural photography show at Durango Arts Center, “Exhibit REPRISE” may take everyone by surprise – again.

The show, which opens Friday and runs through August 1, is the second iteration of a dream by curator Joaquin Salazar. “I want the community to see works by nine artists,” he said in a recent interview, clearly underscoring that photography is a well-established medium of artistic expression. Like last year’s “Exhibit 970, Generations,” the area-code moniker is a giveaway.

“Many people don’t realize how many serious fine-art photographers are right here,” Salazar said, acknowledging Santa Fe as a long-standing capital of contemporary photography.

But Santa Fe-born Salazar said he connects with and champions his fellow Durango photographers to make a point.

“Exhibit REPRISE” is the second annual show of works by Southwest Colorado photographers. This year, Salazar invited nine other professionals to join him at DAC: James Cammack, Frank Comisar, Margy Dudley, Jonas Grushkin, Tim Hamza, Jeff Jessing, Kathy Myrick, Linda Pampinella and Dr. Ron Ritz.

Salazar will show only one print, a spectacular black-and-white panoramic landscape of Utah’s Goosenecks geological formation. His colleagues will have mini solo shows. Once again, designer Kristen McKinnon will install the exhibit, so look for interesting juxtapositions.

All the exhibitors are local professional photographers – independent contractors or gallery owners. You may have seen their work in publications or private collections, but this coming together at DAC establishes a different platform.

In special evening presentations during the run of the show, two will talk about their work. Frank Comisar of Scenic Aperture Gallery will speak at 5 p.m. July 11, and at 5 p.m. July 18, Ron Ritz will talk about his lifetime commitment to black-and-white photography. Ritz is a well-known local plastic surgeon who specializes in reconstructive surgery. For three decades, he has traveled the world providing his services to poor people in need.

From the beginning, Ritz carried his surgical instruments and his favorite cameras, most notably a Hasselblad. Working with film and in a humanist tradition, Ritz has created a body of work that is stunning in breadth and depth – people of all ages and circumstances – from India to Cuba.

Salazar recently started working with Ritz to archive his huge body of work, estimated at more than 20,000 negatives. Salazar is scanning and digitizing all of Ritz’s negatives, with the ultimate goal of publishing a book, Ritz’s first, titled The Heritage Collection.

Salazar, Ritz and the other photographers will be on hand at the DAC opening.

If classic black-and-white photography is your preference, expect to see works that will surprise you – from Salazar’s sweeping, highly theatrical vision of the desert, to Ritz’s images of the world’s poor – entirely human and, ironically, often joyous.

If color photography is your preference, expect to see beautifully composed images of human celebrations, as well as tight, cool modernist abstractions.

Let’s hope “Exhibit REPRISE” will return next summer to our community arts center.

jreynolds@durangoherald.com. Judith Reynolds is a Durango writer, art historian and arts journalist.

If you go

“Exhibit REPRISE,” Durango Arts Center, 802 East Second Ave., through August 1, opening reception 5 p.m. June 26. Curated by Joaquin Salazar with works by James Cammack, Frank Comisar, Margy Dudley, Jonas Grushkin, Tim Hamza, Jeff Jessing, Kathy Myrick, Linda Pampinella and Dr. Ron Ritz. Exhibit is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and includes lectures by Frank Comisar at 5 p.m. July 11 and Ron Ritz at 5 p.m. July 18. Free with $5 suggested donation. For information, call 259-2606 or visit www.durangoarts.org or www.joaquinsalazarphotography.com.



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